Williams and the Niners appeared to be at an impasse earlier this offseason after the team opted not to pick up his $10 million option bonus and said they were willing to trade the soon-to-be 38-year-old. Williams had one year left on his old deal, but with his new contract extension, he will be under contract through 2027. Of the $50 million Williams is set to receive, $34 million will be guaranteed. He allowed just four sacks on 32 pressures last season, per PFF, earning a 79.9 PFF pass-blocking grade.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said last month that “multiple league sources” expected Thibodeaux to be dealt by the Giants, but the recent trade of Lawrence likely means Thibodeaux will be staying put. The former No. 5 overall pick has totaled just 53 tackles and eight sacks over the last two seasons, with injuries limiting him to 22 games over that span. Thibodeaux is in the final year of his rookie deal and seems unlikely to sign an extension before the start of next season. He will need a strong season in 2026 if he hopes to ink a long-term deal next offseason.
The Eagles begin their offseason workout program on Monday, but Brown is not expected to report to the team, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Brown has long been rumored to be a player on the move this offseason, with the Patriots viewed as the most likely landing spot over the last few months. While talks have stalled between the two sides as of late, Schefter reports that “conversations are expected to resume shortly on or before June 1,” which would allow the Eagles to split the $40 million cap hit between 2026 and 2027 rather than taking it all on in one season. While another suitor could still emerge for Brown’s services, the Patriots are the clear-cut leader in the clubhouse to land the star receiver.
With the Steelers opening minicamp on Monday, 2025 fifth-rounder Will Howard will serve as the team’s QB1. Rodgers continues to drag out a decision on returning to the Steelers for another season, but we know he has been in communication with Mike McCarthy, who said, “It would be a great story” to reunite with the quarterback he coached for 13 years in Green Bay. Rodgers will be 42 at the start of the season and threw for 3,322-24-7 in his first season with the Steelers. While he was able to lead the Steelers to a playoff berth, Rodgers threw for a pedestrian 146-0-1 in a 30-6 Wild Card loss to the Texans. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Steelers take a shot on a quarterback at some point in the draft, but it was reported earlier this offseason by beat writer Gerry Dulac that it’s unlikely they would take a QB before the third round.
Jones played in just 11 games last season due to his injury and underwent fusion surgery in March. The team was already reporting that the former first-round pick may not be ready in time for training camp, but this latest setback raises his availability into further question. Schefter reports Jones will be examined later this week to determine where things stand, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Jones isn’t ready for the start of camp. Jones allowed 23 pressures and six sacks on 380 pass-blocking snaps last season, earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 59.0.
The question as to where Love should be ranked on a team’s big board remains, however. The running back position is generally placed in the non-premium category, making it difficult for teams to treat them as justifiable picks early in the first round. That said, the positive drumbeats continue for Love, who Raanan yesterday said Giants head coach John Harbaugh “is going to want to draft” if he is available with the fifth overall pick.
Both players are ahead of schedule, though Hortiz smartly notes, “coming back from injuries, you don’t rush anything.” The goal is for both players to be ready for the start of training camp. Slater ruptured a patellar tendon last August, ending his 2025 season before it began. Alt attempted to come back from a high-ankle sprain in-season last year before suffering a second high-ankle sprain in the same joint, ending his season.
The Packers also waived TE McCallan Castles and CB Tyron Herring. Johnson and Herring were 2025 undrafted free agents. Castles was an undrafted free agent the year prior. Johnson logged defensive snaps in three games late last season, totaling three solo tackles, one TFL, one quarterback pressure and one forced incompletion. Herring and Castles never took the field on defense or offense.
Per NBC Sports Houston’s Aaron Wilson, Klare has met “extensively” with the Texans, Buccaneers, Rams, Broncos and Panthers. Klare could be the second tight drafted next week, profiling as a potential every-down player. Although he performed better as a receiver at Purdue in 2024, he earned a respectable 71.6 PFF run-blocking grade at Ohio State last year. Klare could be a year one contributor, but he is not guaranteed to reach the TE1 ranks in fantasy.
Tyson’s stock continues to tick upward following his private workout on April 17th. The Saints notably possess the No. 8 overall pick. Underhill has been celebrating Tyson as a prospect since late in 2025. In a video released today, he reminded viewers that the Saints hosted Tyson for a visit on April 10th. Underhill described Tyson as being “by far, the most talented wide receiver in this whole entire class,” saying Tyson would be “high up there” if one were to rank wide receivers from the last four or five draft classes. He believes Tyson would be “enticing” for the Saints, as long as they don’t think his injury history is too risky. Underhill also identified the Giants, via pick No. 5, as a potential landing spot. Tyson would assume a fantasy-friendly role on either team. Nothing is guaranteed, and things change quickly during draft week, but Tyson seemingly has a shot to be drafted in the top 10.
The speculation comes from “a few league sources.” When John Harbaugh accepted the Giants’ head coaching role, he got it in writing that he would report to owner John Mara, not Schoen. After signing on the dotted line, Harbaugh hired NFL chief football administrative officer Dawn Aponte as the Giants’ new senior vice president of football operations and strategy. Per Leonard, “while Schoen is still running the scouting staff and working some phones, the bulk of the Giants’ operation otherwise reports to Aponte.” Schoen is in the final year of his contract and reportedly has a good relationship with some in the Giants’ ownership group, but his polling among players is not good. They reportedly gave his performance in March a D+ grade, which he refused to “give validity.” Perhaps he dazzles on Thursday, and this all becomes moot. For now, we suspect his seat is at least mildly warm, though.
We now have five reported top-30 visits for Bailey. He previously met with the Cowboys (Nos. 12 and 20), Chiefs (No. 9 and 29) and Cardinals (No. 3). Bailey was scheduled to meet with the Jets (No. 2) as well, but the team cancelled the visit because they had “all the information they already needed.” The Titans pick at No. 4 overall, and the Commanders pick at No. 7. A top-four pick may be required to snag Bailey.
In a video report from earlier today, Venerable outlined a potential trade in which the Saints acquire the No. 3 overall pick from the Cardinals in exchange for the Nos. 8, 42 and 73 overall picks. He notes “no 2027 draft capital is exchanged with New Orleans,” and told viewers, “I think that’s the preference for these teams — in fact, I know it.” Per Venerable, the Cardinals “are looking to do their damage” in the draft this year, rather than next year. It sounds like Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort needs to leave the draft with meaningful personnel upgrades. Venerable notes that the Cardinals recently hosted Miami OT Francis Mauigoa (back) for a top-30 visit. He would be in play for them in this scenario. Yesterday, Venerable reported that the Cardinals have discussed a potential trade back with the Chiefs as well. He believes both the Saints and Chiefs are targeting either Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey or Ohio State LB Arvell Reese.
Delp has been very busy lately. He also took top-30 visits with the Buccaneers, Chargers, Vikings, Patriots, and Ravens. Delp was a three-year starter at Georgia, playing sidekick to current Raiders TE Brock Bowers in 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, Delp never became a featured receiving option after Bowers was drafted. Delp possesses good size and athleticism. He has the potential to develop at the pro level.
The Chiefs would be targeting the top available pass rusher in a trade up, while the Cardinals will again look to accumulate more picks for their rebuild in a trade down. Several teams have been rumored to be looking to trade down, so it’s possible the return is more underwhelming than it would normally be. The Cardinals would be able to slide to the back end of the main tier of prospects in a trade down, and given that they feel like they have the murkiest roster in the NFL at the moment, trading down makes a lot of sense if they don’t have true conviction in any of these players becoming a star.
This probably isn’t going to lower his draft stock much — Branch is a likely Day 2 pick — but it’s not nothing as we near the start of the event next week. Branch was booked at 1:26 AM on Sunday and released at 3:44 AM. The Georgia wideout ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and figures to be a YAC-focused receiver in the pros.
Earlier reports indicated the Giants were “asking for a lot” in exchange for the standout pass rusher, something that now seems to bear weight after the team landed the No. 10 overall pick in the coming draft. The Giants now hold the No. 5 and No. 10 overall picks when festivities kick off in less than a week. The Bengals land their replacement for Trey Hendrickson after watching as he departed for Baltimore when the Maxx Crosby trade fell apart. It’s a weird replacement on paper as Lawrence wasn’t a premium pass-rusher last year, but it should shore up a weak run defense.
DeFabo notes that Steelers HC Mike McCarthy dropped a few clues when he said he likes quarterbacks with “big hands and long arms” and sometimes gets more excited about the floor than the ceiling. Beck and Penn State QB Drew Allar seem to be firmly on the radar for Pittsburgh, with Allar as the high-ceiling option to Beck’s safer floor. Beck could be targeted in the middle rounds.
“I wouldn’t say the room is complete,” he added. The Athletic’s Daniel Popper also mentioned Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel, and Tyreek Hill as “unsigned veteran receivers with scheme familiarity” for new OC Mike McDaniel. Fantasy managers reliant on Ladd McConkey will want the Chargers to avoid a reunion with Allen, as they both tend to win in the same areas of the field. McConkey, of course, watched his fantasy stock suffer last year with Allen in the fold.
Lawrence, dealt to the Bengals last night, officially passed his physical and signed the contract extension. It’s unclear exactly how much money this adds to his guaranteed tally — that’s probably the real question on how good of a deal it is — but the extension is a bit lower than his reported $30 million per season ask. Lawrence is now under contract for the next three seasons with the Bengals.
Styles and Jeremiyah Love are names that have been tied to the Titans at 4 and Giants at 5 regularly over the last week of buildup to the draft. The Ohio State linebacker is regarded as one of the safest picks in the draft and was a First Team All-American for the Buckeyes’ impressive defense last year. Now that the Giants have two first-round picks, it sounds like if they don’t pick Love, they could land two top-10 defenders.
It would be surprising if Brown were on the Eagles in 2026 given how things have trended. For the last month, all Eagles decision makers can say is People Are Asking Questions About My “A.J. Brown Is An Eagle” T-Shirt. Darlington says this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Eagles will draft a wideout in the first round — it’s a deep wide receiver class and the Eagles have already added Hollywood Brown and Dontayvion Wicks — but (our speculation) it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they wind up with a top-100 pick at wideout.
Kyle Shanahan and Green were captured yelling at each other on the sidelines several times this year. GM John Lynch said that the team wasn’t looking to trade Green. The 2024 second-rounder was a disappointment in 2025 with a 53.5 PFF coverage grade. It wouldn’t be totally surprising if someone traded for Green near the draft, but this report seems more like a public message to Green than anything.
This doesn’t tell us a whole lot. Readers might recall that the 2026 NFL Draft is next week, and the Cardinals hosted Alabama QB Ty Simpson for a top-30 visit yesterday. If the Cardinals do not draft a rookie quarterback, Jacoby Brissett will likely be the default starter, with only Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis joining him on the roster at this time. If that is the case, the pass catchers likely stand to benefit. Brissett was able to distribute the ball effectively last year. Rolling with a developmental rookie could hurt the receiving outlooks for TE Trey McBride, WR Michael Wilson and WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Rapoport said he would be “surprised” if the Cardinals drafted a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick. He also notes that Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort has a working relationship with Texans general manager Nick Caserio. The Texans currently hold the 28th overall pick. Swapping No. 34-plus for No. 28 would allow the Cardinals to get in front of the quarterback-needy Jets, who are slated to pick at the top of the second round, with pick No. 33. Rapoport also believes that if both the Cardinals and Jets pass on Simpson in this range, he may be waiting to be drafted for quite a while.